Work Text:
Every Friday night, Lucy volunteered to work the local high school football games. She loved being a cop and loved being at these events. She’s been doing it for the last few months and keeps coming back. Lucy scans the crowd and then her eyes go back towards the field. “You do know that taking a picture lasts longer.” Her friend and fellow cop Aaron Thorsen is standing next to her. He sees exactly what she is looking at. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with looking.”
Lucy rolls her eyes and they start to walk the perimeter. The football coach is gorgeous and caught her eye on night one. She does stare, not that she wants to tell Aaron that he’s right, but it’s hard not to look at him. “That is not what I’m doing. I’m just doing my job and making sure that no one causes trouble at a high school football game.” They’ve seen some weird things and some very unexpected things. “Don’t look at me like that.”
Aaron shakes his head, grinning. “Don’t try to lie to me. I see you looking at the coach. You can’t even deny it.”
Lucy wants to tell him that he’s wrong but she can’t. “Whatever.” She scoffs but has a tinge of teasing in her voice. Aaron knows that he’s right and smiles proudly.
The crowd isn’t bad tonight, not that it typically is. There have been some minor issues but nothing that requires anyone being arrested. Lucy’s scanning the crowd because she has this feeling she can’t explain. “Lucy, what is it?”
She shrugs and continues to look around. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a man start to climb the fence that leads to the field and she sees some type of weapon in his hand. Aaron watches her jump the fence and as soon as she’s on the other side, she starts sprinting towards the person who jumped. He goes after her, but she’s already halfway there with the entire crowd looking on. The man looks to be running towards the coach of the home team. Everyone sees Lucy make it to the man and execute a perfect tackle. Aaron hears him groan when he makes it over and she’s already got the cuffs on him. He sees that there’s some type of wooden stick next to him, not that it could do that much damage. “You’re now going to jail.”
Suddenly, they hear clapping and cheers. The crowd, players, coaches, and the rest of the stadium are cheering for Lucy. Her face starts to turn red. Aaron takes the suspect. “Have your moment, Chen.”
Lucy rolls her eyes and turns to the suspect. “What were you thinking was going to happen?”
“He benched my son!” The man defends himself but he knows that he messed up. “It’s not right.” High school sports are brutal. Lucy remembers how bad some of the parents were when she was in high school.
“It doesn’t matter. You should have talked to him about this and not tried to attack him. So I’ll ask again, what did you think was going to happen?” Aaron can see the players and coaches still looking on with awe.
He deflates. “He deserves a chance. He’s a good kid who made some dumb decisions. I guess he gets it from me. I’m sorry.” Lucy almost feels bad but she can see some remorse on his face.
“Officer Thorsen, you stay here. I’ll be right back.” She walks closer to the team to make sure that everyone is okay.
“Sorry for all the excitement tonight.” Lucy smiles and when she sees those blue eyes staring back at her, she feels weak in the knees. “Are you all okay?”
One player moves forward. “We’re fine, but how did you learn to tackle so beautifully? We need someone like you on our team.”
“We can’t even tackle that cleanly.” All the players start to talk when a voice overrules them.
“Listen guys, let’s talk to-” He waits for her to say her name.
“It’s Sergeant Chen.” She tries to go back into her cop mode.
“Sergeant Chen.” He smiles back. “I’m Coach Bradford. Thank you for your help. If being a cop doesn’t work, we could always use another coach for the team.”
“Well Coach Bradford, I’ll keep that in mind. I do appreciate your patience tonight.” She licks her lips ever so slightly and she can see that his eyes haven’t left hers. “Here’s my card. If you need anything, just call me.” Lucy looks back at the players. “Is his son here?”
A shy man who towers over her walks forward. “Uh, he’s my dad. I’m sorry. I screwed up, not the coach.”
“It’s not your fault, Isaac.” Coach Bradford squeezes his shoulder.
“He’s right, it’s not your fault.” Lucy tells him. “Why don’t you come with us so we can clear all of this up?”
The coach stops her before she goes. “Are you bringing him to jail?” Lucy goes to say something but he does first. “I don’t want to press charges. Isaac’s mom died six months ago and they’ve been trying to navigate everything. He didn’t make the best decision tonight, but Isaac can’t lose his dad too.”
Lucy’s heart clenches and she is impressed by this man. He loves his players and will defend them. “I’ll take this into account, I promise.”
He nods and Aaron leads them off the field. They do let him out of the cuffs and the father and son embrace. “Listen.” Lucy walks over to them. “I know a grief group that helped me through a hard time in my life. It was the only place I ever truly felt understood unlike a lot of these other places. I think you two should look into it.”
“Thank you for helping and not putting me in jail.” The father says solemnly.
“You’re not a criminal, you just didn’t make the best decision. Please try this for me though. Grief does some tricky things, but you two have each other. You will need each other more than ever.” They both hug the two officers and then head home. Lucy and Aaron finish and have to leave as soon as the game is done. She didn’t even get to say goodbye.
Football season is over after tonight which is a bit disappointing for Lucy, but work definitely keeps her busy. Although, her tackle did make it to the internet and has had millions of views. Grey has thoroughly enjoyed teasing her about it.
The next week, she’s doing paperwork in her office, when her phone vibrates.
Unknown number:
This may be strange Lucy, but this is Coach Bradford. I hope you don’t mind that I’m reaching out today. I wanted to thank you for not arresting Isaac’s dad. They told me what you did. You seem pretty incredible.
Lucy chuckles and looks around before saving his number. She has written her personal number on the back, not expecting a response. She feels butterflies in her stomach and composes herself before responding.
To Bradford:
Well, it’s lovely to hear from you. Although you know my first name and I don’t know yours. He made a dumb decision, but they need to heal together, not worry about court or jail. I like to think that I was just doing my job. I also hoped you’d reach out. 😉
From Bradford:
Well, we must rectify that quickly. My name is Tim. Well, I didn’t want to seem desperate and reach out right away. You caught my eye months ago. You are also the star of our team now thanks to your tackle.
Lucy starts giggling to herself when she hears a voice and drops her phone. “Oh, did the hot coach text you?” Aaron is grinning at her and she knows her face is red.
“Shut up.” She throws a pen at him. “I hate you.”
Aaron shrugs and shakes his head. “You love me. Hey you two seem to have hit it off. Enjoy your weekend, Sergeant.” He winks and places the paperwork on her desk. Lucy quickly updates Tim's contact information in her phone before turning back to her paperwork. Her phone goes off again about ten minutes later.
From Tim:
Is it too forward to ask what you’re doing tonight?
Lucy looks around again before she starts typing her response. She doesn’t want to be teased again.
To Tim:
Well, I was free but I’m not now.
From Tim:
Oh, okay. Well maybe we can see each other again soon.
Lucy chuckles at his response because he didn’t seem to understand.
To Tim:
Well, I’m not free because we have plans together now.
From Tim:
Oh really? I like how you think, Lucy. Can I pick you up?
To Tim:
It’s a good thing my car is in the shop. I just so happen to need a ride. I finish my shift at six. I’m at Mid-Wilshire. See you soon.
Tim doesn’t respond, mainly because it’s almost six and he is probably rushing to get here. Lucy finishes with five minutes to spare and quickly goes to change. She throws her leggings and shirt on before pulling her hair out of its bun. She quickly looks herself over before walking out. Tim’s leaning against his truck when she exits the station and she almost stops in her tracks with how beautiful he is. His eyes catch hers and she walks over to him. “Wow.” Tim has only ever seen her in uniform, which he loves. “You are absolutely gorgeous, Lucy.” He goes red because he is being so forward and they have only met a few times. Lucy is different, he can feel it.
“Don’t be so nervous, Tim. You’re pretty hot too.” He chuckles. “And I did a background check on you so I know that you’re a good person.” His eyes go wide and Lucy breaks into laughter. “I’m kidding but your face was priceless.”
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you since I first saw you, but I have never had the chance. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get to know you.” Lucy feels goosebumps when his fingers graze her arm. “It feels like fate.”
“Apparently, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you. My partner noticed and loves teasing me about it.” She bites her lip. “So where are you taking me?”
Tim crowds her space. “I promise that it’ll be the best last first date that you’ve ever had.”
“You’re quite confident there, Coach.” Her smile never leaves her face.
“You’re special and I know I don’t know you that well, but I do know that I’m never letting you go, ever.” She smirks and pulls his head down for a kiss. Tim was right, it was the best last first date she’s ever had. There were many more that followed. The best part though, was when they got married, in the same place that they met for the very first time. That field would hold so many special memories for them and they loved creating new ones whenever they could.